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But if you get to the end of the month with nothing spare and are struggling to work out where all your wages have disappeared to, finding several hundred pounds to pay for a holiday, Christmas or just a treat for yourself or a loved one can seem close to impossible.

But it's not.

In fact, we've come up with five ways to build up a fun fund that means when the time comes you'll be able to enjoy your treat without getting into any debt at all.

Plan 1 - save the change

You can now do this without actually having coins too (Image: iStockphoto)

A few years ago this was pretty simple - empty the change out of your wallet, pocket, bag or purse at the end of the day into a jar, then count it and cash it in for something fun.

Sadly, with more and more purchases happening online and with cards that doesn't work any more.

The good news is that there's a way to make it happen even when spending electronically.

Customers of Halifax,Lloyds and TSB can all ask for their transactions toy be rounded up to the nearest pound and the money dropped into a savings account automatically.

How to make more of your money

Plan 3 - Savings sweeps

The plan here is simple - set a limit and a day and your bank will sweep all the cash over that limit into a savings account for you.

For example, you could set it up so if there's ever more than £100 left the day before payday, the extra is saved automatically.

Currently it's only available from First Direct as an automated service - but it's something you can do yourself too with a bit of discipline.

Plan 4 - The penny challenge

I mean, what else do you actually do with them? (Image: Getty)

This is a way to turn your coppers into an impressive £668 savings pot over a year.

To take part, you'll have to put away a single copper a day (at first), which gradually grows to pounds as the year goes on - and by 31 December (providing you've been good) you'll have £667.95 to see you into the New Year.